Beirut Architecture

The French mandate (1920-1940), between transition and modernity, places Lebanon under French administration. This Western influence leaves its mark on the architecture and the urban landscape, particularly in Beirut then the seat of French power in the East. The development of buildings constructed around a central hall is a result of the westernisation of domestic architecture, from the 19th century until the 1930s. About thirty of them – of which some have now disappeared – are analysed, with views of the façade, elements of modenature and photographs.